Texas Vacation!

We redeemed our bad vacation to Philly with an AMAZING vacation to Texas! We flew into Dallas, and Cameron's parents picked us up at the airport. We ate and headed back to Abilene. Our time in Abilene was super relaxing, which was just what we needed! Tons of sunshine and fresh air. Ahhh...

 

 As soon as Mark and Sherla (aka Nana and Papa) picked us up, they whisked us off for killer good Mexican food at Uncle Julio's in Ft. Worth. Y'all, I missed decent hot sauce like you wouldn't believe (yes, we call it hot sauce, not salsa...however, if you ask for hot sauce in Erie, you will get some Frank's Red Hot wing sauce...so say SALSA. When in Erie, do as the Erie-ites do). haha

 And, here is the beautiful, sunny Texas sky that greeted us as we pulled into Abilene. So wonderful. We could smell sprinklers watering lawns, hear birds singing, and we finally felt some warm sunshine. I left my Vitamin D supplements in Erie. We went the natural way in Texas. 

 We went to see The Croods on opening day. It was a cute movie.

 And, we had delicious Sharon Allen's BBQ. My mouth is watering. I started to feel my head clear and my old self coming back from all the BBQ and Mexican food. And, no. I'm not joking.

You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the girl.

 Cameron found me a Mason Jar glass with a built-in straw and a lid.

 We went to the Abilene Zoo! Madilyn, Nana and Papa rode the train, we fed the catfish, saw TONS of snakes (they have a HUGE snake exhibit--yuck!), and I got a sunburn. Yes! It was awesome :)

 Madilyn ran inside to grab something and came out with a big sunhat. This was what she did for lots of time...stayed outside and enjoyed the sunshine. We all did.

 We went to Champions Church in Abilene, and we were so blessed by the ministry there. In fact, we were prayed for by a doctor and his wife. It was very powerful. Then, they had us over that afternoon, sat us down, and told us the things they wish they would've known in our position. Pure wisdom. I felt the Lord just pulling us away, giving us a heart-to-heart talk, and equipping us to handle the seasons ahead of us. I can't even describe how much this moment meant to us. It was such an amazing moment, and I know we'll always remember it.

 Afterwards, we ate dinner at Taco Bueno (which is by far BETTER than Taco Bell), and we drove past our first home. It still looks the same...which isn't good since it's been 8 years ago that we lived there. Come on people, let's go for an update! :)

Madilyh had her first trip to Mr. Gattis. Oh boy. I'm pretty sure Cameron and I enjoyed it every bit as much as she did. The "whack-a-mole" machine was jammed and it kept replaying on our turn...so we got like 200 tickets just playing it over and over. Lots of laughter, for sure! :)

 

Cameron and I went on a date to Hastings, just like the old days :) I got my favorite Chai Tea Latte (they make the BEST one...Yes, better than Starbucks!), and Cameron had black coffee, as always.

 

Then, we made the drive to Amarillo. We drove with Cameron's parents, and then we picked up his Grandma Patsy for a birthday lunch. We all rode together, and there were not enough seats, so Cameron rode in the hatch back. He's a trooper. 

 Madilyn and Grandma Patsy had a nice car ride.

 I FINALLY got to meet my nephew Henry Milo Taylor, who is 4 months old!

 Madilyn had a blast in Amarillo. Here is what she did most of the time--drive the Escalade.

 The weather in Amarillo was absolutely FABULOUS! Here are Madilyn, Grammy and Grampy (my parents) walking back from playing at the playground.

 I got to ride to get dinner one night with my dad. It was priceless.

There aren't many quiet moments like this. I really enjoyed it.

 Here is me and my dear old dad :)

 We got to feed the ducks at Medi-Park in Amarillo. Once again, wonderful weather.

 My Gang-Gang and Anna (my Dad's side) drove up to Amarillo to see us,

and we ate lunch with them.

 Decorating Easter eggs was nice to do with extended family.

Last year, we did it alone. This year, we had my parents there, and it was a lot of fun for everyone.

 Here we are, riding in the backseat, to Easter Sunday morning at my parents' church in Canyon.

The girls were in the backseat, and the boys and their long legs were in the front seat.

 Here are the sweet little cousins--Henry and Madilyn--taking their first picture together.

 We also got to spend some time with my mom's side of the family, hunting Easter eggs. My dad and Cameron grilled BBQ chicken. My Poppy brought over strawberry icecream, and my Aunt Didi brought The Hokey Pokey on CD. haha It was a nice day, and we were all ready for naptime.

Here is a picture of the "hat rack" at my parents' church.

 In Pennsylvania, we have coat racks. In Texas, hat racks.

 While we were in Amarillo, a cute little Maltese showed up at my parent's door without a tag. We nicknamed her Molly. We walked up and down the streets looking for her owner. No one knew where she came from. So, we brought her in. She's much too cute to let her get hit by a car. So, as she was in the house, she instantly loved my dad.

However, about an hour later, her owners came to pick her up.

 Her REAL name was Millie. (I think my parents need a puppy!) 

And, the night before we left, my brother Tyson, came back over to see us.

We really enjoyed our time spent with Jenny, Tyson and Henry. They are such a sweet family!

 

 We made it home two days ago, and we've been adjusting to real life again.

It's nice to be back in our home, but we do miss Texas terribly.

However, I think we FINALLY made it to Spring in Erie, so that's something to look forward to.

Only a little over a year, and we'll be moving on to our next adventure--Residency! 

Battling the Blues

There have been times in my life that I've been very down...like maybe depressed.
The first time I noticed it was when I had Madilyn. She was colicky, I was so exhausted. I never got on medication, because sleep seemed to work, but wow. Feeling down is no good.
The next time I felt that down was the first winter we spent in Erie. First off, the sun doesn't come out for weeks at a time. Second, I was lonely. And, I learned that I had to be proactive to battle the blues before they hit me.
Seriously, take a girl who's been raised for 29 years of her life in sunny, blue skies and bring her to a place that 3/4 of the year is raining, snowing and/or overcast. They don't call it "Dreary Erie" for no reason. I wasn't prepared for how the weather might affect my mood/outlook, but when you don't see the sunshine for days on end, it can really start to mess with you.
I have been reading this book called: "Desperate: Hope for the Mom who Needs to Breathe," by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson. The book addresses lots of issues that moms go through. It's a young mom of small children writing letters to an older mentor, who has already raised her children. The advice is timeless and priceless.
In the chapter I just read, it discussed feeling down or depressed*. I have a few friends that have voiced to me over the years that they, too, have had moments of feeling down. It's more common than most people ever discuss.
I found the advice in the book to be GOLDEN, so I thought I'd pass it along just in case someone else might need the tips.
Here are the questions they list as things to ask yourself when you're feeling down from "Desperate" (which is so good, you should really buy it yourself!):
1. Do I need sleep? (this can really change your outlook!)
2. Have I been reading my Bible? (we all need to hear from God)
3. Do I feel alone? (if so, call a friend)
4. Am I watching my health? (exercise is a great stress reliever)
5. How can I get help? (don't be afraid to ask friends and family for relief from daily duties for an hour or two)
6.What do I need to do to invest in the joy factor in my life? (As women, we like to make things beautiful. Should you light a candle, turn on your favorite music or get some fresh flowers?)

During the gloomy winters here, there are times that I turn on the lamps, light a nice candle, play some Frank Sinatra and bake cookies. To each his own :)

These are all such basic principles, but they really seem to change the environment around you if you apply them. As women, we must stick together, encourage each other and not be afraid to ask for help. We are all in this walk together.

If you struggle and want me to remember you in my prayers, just let me know. As I fight to keep myself from being discouraged, I will fight for you, too.

*This in no way means that medications are not needed in some cases. This is more or less referring to times of feeling down, not clinical depression.

We are bad at vacations.

 So, we left on Monday morning for our trip to Philadelphia. We were all excited to get out of Erie for a few days so Cameron could take his Physical Evaluation of Step 2 of the Boards. We reserved a hotel room in King of Prussia, PA (strange name, right?), and off we went. We even brought the dogs.

 Here we are. Happy Campers. Happy, unsuspecting campers.

Little did we know, this would not be what we were anticipating.

 

 It all started when we realized our GPS had taken us to the Toll Roads...and Toll Roads in Pennsylvania are NOT cheap. It cost us nearly $30 in tolls just to make it one way of our destination. The only positive of this was that we got to tunnel through three different mountains. The tunnels were pretty cool. Madilyn loved them.

 So, we finally made it Monday night, met Cameron's Aunt Julie and Uncle Ike for dinner at Outback, and then headed off to our motel. It was Motel 6. Now, I've stayed at my share of Motel 6's, and for the most part, they're just fine. Nothing too fancy, but usually clean and stocked with all of the usual motel amenities. This one, was NOT.
For starters, the our room door looked like someone had pryed it open a time or two. Trashy. The carpet was dirty and stained, the countertops looked like someone had dyed their hair in there, and there was no shampoo. None. We walked in and said, "Oh...........no." Madilyn walked in and said, "Oh.........YES! This is amazing!" haha It's all in your perspective, I guess.
The next day, while Cameron took his test, Madilyn and I met up with Aunt Julie to see some sights. We just did free things since we were trying to save money...but next time, I'm buying the City Pass and seeing all of the historical sights. I was disappointed we weren't able to this time. But, oh well. So....we ate cheesesteaks and pizza at Jerry's Pizza Pie (it was DELICIOUS!) and we drove out to Herr's Potato Chip factory (Make Herr's Yours--haha). On the way, Madilyn threw up in the car. We had been driving a lot, and I thought she might have been carsick. So, we went inside Herr's and bought her a new, clean t-shirt before we took the tour.

 

Here she is, in her new t-shirt, talking to Aunt Julie.

During the tour, we got to eat fresh, hot potato chips. They were delicious!

 After the tour, we headed off to Longwood Gardens. Aunt Julie volunteers there, so we got free tickets to see the plants and flowers. Most of the flowers were still not out yet (it was cold), but we went in the Arboretum, and it was springtime! The smell was glorious. I could live in there all year long.

 Here are Madilyn and Aunt Julie on the "Whispering Bench."

You sit on one end and whisper...and the person at the other end

can hear what you're saying. Kinda cool.

 So, after Longwood Gardens, we went back to the hotel, grabbed Cameron for dinner and headed out. On the way to dinner, we got stuck in traffic, Madilyn threw up again, and we went back to the junky motel. Cameron got us take out and brought it back. We ate and went to bed.
About 30 minutes after we were all asleep, Madilyn threw up in bed. We cleaned her up, went back to sleep, and 20 minutes later, she threw up again. This continued every 20 minutes for 2 hours. Poor baby couldn't stop! We had to take her to the ER. She was sad. She just wanted to go back to the "show and tell" (aka motel).

 They gave her some Zofran and monitored her for a while. She finally fell asleep and we waited to get the discharge papers from the ER dr.

Finally, no more throwing up. So, we were discharged, went to our car, got her hooked in the car seat, and she threw up again. We made it back to the motel room, got her in bed, and she threw up again. Oh, it was so sad and exhausting. By this time, I think it was 3:30 a.m. Thankfully, that was the last of the throwing up. Praise Jesus!

The next morning, we headed back to Erie. As we drove through Lancaster, PA (aka land of the Amish), we saw a few horses and buggies, but honestly by the time I realized it, we were too far away to get a good picture. They do have these road signs, though.

 And, we saw this sweet dad and son walking together through town. So adorable.

 Here is a buggy in the corner of the parking lot.

 Then, as we drove through State College, there were signs to drive two dots apart, and they actually painted the road all the way through town with dots. I've never seen anything like this before.

 We kept our "two dot" distance.

We stopped in Harrisburg, PA at Sonic Drive-in, and I got my favorite--a Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper! I've missed Sonic SO MUCH!!!
Other than that, the drive home was pretty uneventful. Poor Madilyn! Traveling when you're sick is NO FUN, but she was a trooper. Then, we drove through lots of snow the whole way to Erie. I am ready for warm weather!!!
We hope our next vacation is a little more uneventful and a little more relaxing. But through it all, I could feel God's presence. He is an ever-present help in time of need.

The Zoo is OPEN!

The Erie Zoo opened again today!

The high was 28 degrees, and yes, it was snowing.

And yes, we went to the zoo :)

 Daddy and Madilyn seeing the polar bear.

 The half-frozen pond.

 Madilyn HAD to bring May Giraffe and Baby Horse

so they could see the zoo. She knew they would love it :)

 The ducks were all underneath the bird feeders eating the fallen bird seed.

 The mighty Mill Creek.

Most of the animals were still indoors, but it was so nice to have family time 

and get some fresh air. And afterwards, we took Madilyn to her favorite fro-yo place--Menchies!

Maybe if we pretend that it's Spring, it will start to feel like it?

Our Sweetest Christmas Moments

We spent Christmas in Erie by ourselves this year. Here are some favorite pictures I have been forgetting to post. Lots of snow. Lots of fun.

And, we're back!

Hello friends!
Well, here we are. Well into 2013, and I still haven't posted pictures from Christmas Day! I will try to get those up soon.
As you can tell, our blog got a facelift! Big thanks to my pal Christie Lee. She so kindly volunteered to help me update the look.
I hope to post a lot this year to keep you updated on our adventures. We have a big year coming up with Cameron's "away rotations" and interviews. Crazy times. Good times.
Thanks for taking the time to visit here.
I hope this post finds you and yours doing well in 2013.
God is so good,
Ashley